Miliband confirms no plans for 2035 ban on gas boilers in homes
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Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has confirmed that the Government is not planning to introduce a future ban on gas boilers, citing concern around the potential cost to consumers. Speaking at the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said he was “wary” of stopping people from having gas boilers by a specific date if the Government cannot guarantee greener alternatives will be cheaper.
With a significant amount of the UK’s carbon footprint coming from gas heating of homes, the previous Conservative government had outlined plans to ban the sale of new gas boilers by 2035. The answer is that we said in our manifesto that we weren't going to force anyone to rip out their gas boiler.
This meant households looking to replace their boilers would have to opt for a greener option for heating their home by that date, such as a heat pump. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak was criticised by scientists, campaigners and MPs in 2023 when he backtracked on several net zero policies, including weakening the mooted boiler ban to an 80% phase-out by 2035.
Last week, it was reported that the new Government had scrapped plans for a 2035 ban on gas boilers in its new housebuilding standards. Quizzed by MPs about this decision, Mr Miliband told the committee that Labour never had plans for such a ban. “There isn’t going to be a ban because Rishi Sunak… well, they never legislated for the ban and then he said he wasn’t going to do it,” he said.
